The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) provides more than 1,000 scholarships for U.S. high school students to study abroad for a few weeks, summer, or an academic year in more than 25 countries. These exchange programs prepare young Americans to succeed in the 21st century’s global economy by developing foreign language skills, increasing cross-cultural understanding, strengthening confidence and leadership capacity, and fostering new academic insights and ambitions.
Applications are now being received for the following scholarship programs. Please share this information widely with teachers, students, parents, and others in your networks.
Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX): Live with a host family and attend high school in Germany.
Application Deadline: November 1, 2023
Length: Academic Year
Future Leaders Exchange Abroad (FLEX Abroad): Live with a host family and attend high school in Georgia, Kazakhstan, or Poland
Application Deadline: December 6, 2023
Length: Academic Year
Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Abroad (YES Abroad): Live with a host family and attend high school in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, or Europe
Application Deadline: December 6, 2023
Length: Academic Year
National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y): Immerse yourself in Arabic, Indonesian, Mandarin, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Russian, or Turkish language learning
Application Deadline: November 2, 2023
Length: Six-seven weeks in summer or Academic Year
Youth Ambassadors: Learn about civic education and develop leadership skills in the Caribbean and South or Central America
Application Deadline: November 13, 2023
Length: Two-three weeks in summer
Programs cover international airfare, tuition, program costs, meals, and living accommodations (often with a host family), among other things. There are no language prerequisites, except for select Youth Ambassadors programs. Applicants must be between the ages of 15 and 18.5 when the program starts. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs strives to represent the diversity of the U.S. and societies abroad in its programs.
Another way to bring the world to your home or classroom is by hosting an international exchange student. Almost 2,000 high school students representing over 50 countries participate in highly competitive U.S. State Department programs to study in the United States each academic year on the CBYX, FLEX, and YES programs.
For more information and outreach materials, please visit https://exchanges.state.gov/highschool and hosting.state.gov.
Please email us at youthprograms@state.gov with any questions.
Sincerely,
Youth Programs Division
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
U.S. Department of State
